PHISH

April 19, 1985
Hunt's, Burlington, VT

Source: Unknown Mic(s) -> Fisher Price Tuff Stuff Recorder (Doguelog warm mod) -> Maxell XL II @ 90 mins 

Transfer: Maxell XL II 90 -> JVC -> HHB -> CD -> PC -> HissTerminator KYS-420 -> Audacity -> Taper's Little Helper - > FLAC  

Disc 1: 
1. Scarlet Begonias (Trey on lead vocals) ->
2. Eyes of the World (Trey on lead vocals) ->
3. Whipping Post (cuts right away)
4. Midnight Hour
5. Fire Up the Ganja (cuts)

All of these tracks appear to be performed by Trey, Mike and Fish, along with members of the band Lambsbread. (For example, there are two guitarists and a keyboardist in the Scarlet -> Eyes, and Page didn't play with Phish until May 1985.)

Enormous thanks to TODD BERMAN for finding this tape in a box of tapes that he had collected in college in the mid-1990s, and for emailing Kevin Hoy (founder of The Spreadsheet) about it. Thank you, Todd and Kevin! This recording should be up on The Spreadsheet soon.

For all you vets out there: this Hunt's material was on side B of the tape, and it was mislabeled "5/19/85," consistent with its lore (see, e.g., Phish.com). And on Side A? You guessed it. The early, incomplete version of 12/1/84 Nectar's, with only the Scarlet->Fire->FOTM, Slave, Spanish Flea ("w/ band introduction") and Skippy on it.. And the handwritten jcard? It has the noses-with-legs-and-feet-riding-in-and-on-a-cadillac artwork on it. Classic. This tape's overdubbing tabs aren't even punched out. The labels on the tape itself for both sides A and B are mislabeled, with 12/1/84 claimed to be the "first gig," and "5/19/85" the "second gig." 

This tape belongs in an Archive. In this era of TS->InterWebstreaming and immediate MP3 post-show downloading, this tape is an historical artifact in the history of recorded live music. It is also one of those recordings that somehow managed to escape the tape collections of many of the most obsessive-compulsive Phish tape collectors in history. Of course, its failure to circulate widely in the previous 26 years may have resulted from its quality. (I'd have probably given it a "C-/D+" on my last tapelist, circa 2000.)

TAPE NOTES: This copy of this recording has been tracked, but its impressive hiss and overall sound quality have not been altered in any way. The pitch is off, but not to the point where Trey sounds like his balls are being pinched. There is a cut into Scarlet. There is also wow and flutter in the Scarlet, but fortunately it occurs before the jam segment. There is an incredibly long segue into Eyes of the World, and Mike is stellar in it. It was tricky to determine where to track the start of Eyes. (I relied on Mike, as well as the many versions of Eyes that Phil Lesh had similarly started.) At its conclusion, Eyes starts to segue into Whipping Post, which is abruptly cut. There is then a random, inexplicable clip of aud applause, which has been lovingly preserved. Midnight Hour is complete. (Someone other than Trey, Mike or Fish is on lead vocals for Midnight Hour.) There is a cut into Fire Up the Ganja and, unfortunately, this is also an incomplete version that cuts out. (Someone other than Trey, Mike or Fish is on lead vocals for Fire Up the Ganja.)

The shownotes on the Phish.net setlist for this show, as of today (July 7, 2011), read: This setlist is likely incomplete. It is believed that all of these songs were performed with members of Lambsbread. On the only known recording of this show, Whipping Post cuts almost immediately after it begins. This gig was originally booked as a Lambsbread gig, but it was cancelled, and taken over by Phish, who played with members of Lambsbread. Fire Up the Ganja is sung over the music of Fire on the Mountain.

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